Internet Usage Statistics:1,581,100
Internet users as of December, 2014;
53.6% of the population, according to IWS.

Jamaica is an island nation of the
Greater Antilles, 240 kilometers (150 mi) in length and as much
as 85 kilometers (50 mi) in width, situated in the Caribbean Sea.
It is 635 kilometers (391 mi) east of the Central American
mainland, 150 kilometers (93 mi) south of Cuba, and 180
kilometers (112 mi) west of the island of Hispaniola, on which
Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated. Formerly a Spanish
possession known as Santiago, then as the British West Indies
Crown colony of Jamaica. It is the third most populous Anglophone
country in the Americas, after the United States and
Canada.

Latest Jamaica Population
Estimate:

2,950,210
population for 2015, according toUS Census Bureau.Latest GNI
Estimate:GNI per
capita was US$ 5,220 for 2014, according to theWorld Bank.

Caribbean Telecoms Market
Overview and Statistics
Almost all Caribbean countries offer a full range of telecom
services, despite being characterised by small markets in terms
of population. Liberalisation agreements have been reached in
most countries. The major mobile players are the incumbent Cable
& Wireless and Digicel which, in June 2005, agreed to acquire
all the Caribbean operations of Cingular Wireless. The
region’s mobile subscriber base is concentrated in the
hands of these two major players, with only a few smaller
companies edging their way into the newly liberalised markets.
This Paul Budde report provides an overview of the
Caribbean’s telecom sector accompanied by relevant
statistics and a brief profile of the major players.See report table of
contents

Broadband and Consumer E-Commerce
in Jamaica

May 2015 Review

Jamaica’s Minister of Industry,
Commerce, Science and Technology (with Energy), Phillip Paulwell,
emphasized the need for Jamaica and the rest of the region to
continue on a path of progress in information communication
technology (ICT) development. The Minister, who was speaking at
the May 17 opening ceremony of the World Telecommunication Day
Symposium at the Hilton Kingston, noting that with the
developments taking place across the globe, "it is imperative
that we take stock of where we are, and where we need to be in
terms of ICT development."

"International Telecommunications Union (ITU) statistics," he
added, "show that over the last 10 years, the digital divide
between the developing and the developed countries has been
narrowing in terms of fixed telephone lines, mobile subscribers
and Internet users."

Locally, he said, there has been tremendous growth in cellular
subscription since the liberalization process started in 2000,
moving from about 70,000 subscribers to over two million at
present. "Mobile penetration in Jamaica exceeds that of the rest
of the Caribbean and indeed the rest of the western hemisphere,"
Minister Paulwell noted.

In terms of E-readiness, the Minister informed that Jamaica has
made tremendous progress and was now "behind the United States,
Canada, Brazil and Chile in terms of our E-readiness for this
region", and was "looking forward to overtaking them as the first
developing country to do so in the region."

Speaking of Internet use in Jamaica, Minister Paulwell stated
that, "Internet penetration rates in Jamaica have remained behind
those found in more dynamic markets, especially Asia, presenting
a serious obstacle to the realization of the government's
objectives to develop a strong and effective ICT sector."

He said that the mission now, "is to move away from the focus on
voice and instead to try in greater earnest to ensure that we
have the infrastructure for supporting a knowledge-based
society."

Fibre optic and wireless broadband technology were recently
introduced to the island, and since the liberalisation process in
2000, growth in cellular mobile subscribers increased from
approximately 300,000 subscribers to nearly two million today.
Mobile penetration in Jamaica exceeds that of the rest of the
Caribbean and even North America, with the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) world telecommunications index for
2005 indicating a mobile penetration rate of 82.2 per cent,
according to the technology minister.

The three-day symposium, which was hosted by the Caribbean
Telecommunications Union (CTU) in association with Mona School of
Business, concluded May 19, 2006.